MapleRead SE vs NovelGlide
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MapleRead SE
This app offers a unique audio-visual reading experience for EPUB and PDF files. It allows for extensive customization of book styles, instant audiobook generation, and immersive reading that syncs audio and text. It also functions as an effective library management tool with cross-device syncing.
- Audio-visual reading experience
- EPUB and PDF reader
- Pseudo audiobook generation
- Immersion reading (audio/text sync)
- Library management and organization
- Cross-device syncing
- User-defined customization
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MapleRead is dedicated to enable unique audio-visual reading experience for everyone. ------------ Our MapleRead app family has 3 members, namely SE, CE and CX. - SE is our flagship product with all features. - CE is SE without PDF reader and built-in Library Server. - CX is CE with some limitation. Free to try. - No recurring subscription fees. No ads. Just buy it once. Gratuity optional. - Moreover, SE and CE can be run side-by-side via split-view multitasking. - Recommend SE for use on multiple devices with easy and fast book sharing via Library Server. - Recommend the SE-CE bundle for the best value. ------------ MapleRead includes a superb audio-visual EPUB e-book reader. - It lets you easily modify publisher's original book style to better suit your aesthetic taste. - It lets you instantly generate pseudo audiobooks with a choice of narrator voices over 40 languages. - It enables immersion reading so that you may read and listen to the same book in sync. - Background listening works well too. Compatible with Lock Screen Music Player and CarPlay. MapleRead UI is friendly to users of all ages. - Books can be read in regular and large print. - A choice of UI text sizes makes reading in non-book views much more comfortable. MapleRead is a great learning tool. - It lets you look up words, translate sentences, search text, highlight text and write notes. - It helps you collect vocabulary and organize notes with various priorities. - It provides hooks to user-defined dictionaries, translators, and other tools. - Immersion reading improves your comprehension, especially of foreign-language books. MapleRead is an effective and fast library management tool. - It is designed for you, a book lover, who may own a huge and/or growing book collection. - It lets you keep all your books in one place and well-organized automatically. - It lets you display your books elegantly in style. - It lets you easily repair individual book metadata. - If supports multiple book sets and multiple tags. - It offers multiple ways to import and export books, and works well with Calibre. MapleRead supports secure sync across devices via MapleRead Cloud and iCloud. - It syncs reading positions, notes, vocab, bookmarks, and book set membership (but not the books). - It syncs reading positions additionally via iCloud for even better user experience. - It enables web access to synced data via web browsers from desktop and mobile devices. MapleRead offers unprecedented user-defined customization options. - They include unlimited user-defined fonts, book themes, cover images and library scenes. - Each book theme includes various types of user-defined highlight colors. - Each book can have its own theme, and each EPUB book can have its own style. MapleRead SE includes also a great PDF e-book reader. - The PDF reader looks very similar to the EPUB reader for a sense of unified UI. MapleRead SE has a zero-configuration Library Server for easy book sharing. - All books in Library can be shared. - Smart batch download makes transferring of multiple books very convenient. [For more technical details, screenshots, FAQ and reviews, please visit our website.]
NovelGlide
This ePub reader offers a customizable and convenient way to discover and enjoy digital books. It supports OPDS catalogs for free book discovery, allows for personalized reading settings, and includes features like bookmarks, search, and text-to-speech.
- ePUB book support
- OPDS catalog browsing
- Customizable appearance
- Bookmarks and search
- Book management
- Text-to-speech functionality
- Cloud sync
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NovelGlide is a clean, privacy-first EPUB reader for your phone and tablet. Bring your own EPUB books, or discover free public-domain classics from built-in catalogs — then read the way you like: adjustable fonts and themes, dark mode, highlights, and bookmarks. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Read EPUB e-books in a smooth, distraction-free reader • Listen with read-aloud (text-to-speech) — keep playing with the screen off, and control it from the lock screen • Read along with a book's own recorded narration, when the EPUB includes it • Add books straight from other apps with the share sheet • Vertical writing for Chinese & Japanese, with furigana, Zhuyin (注音), and pinyin ruby • Tap any Chinese or Japanese word for an instant dictionary lookup • Save words to a vocab library as you read, review them later, and export to Anki • Translate a selection in the reader, with offline language packs • Two-page spread on a tablet or in landscape • Sync your library across devices with Google Drive • Find free public-domain books in-app, or connect your own OPDS server (Calibre, Kavita) • Highlights, bookmarks, in-book search, and collections to organize your library • Dark mode and adjustable typography for comfortable reading PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account required to read your own books. NovelGlide is free — no forced subscription, no ads. NovelGlide reads EPUB files. Read-aloud uses your device's synthesized voice; recorded narration plays only for EPUBs that include it.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MapleRead SE at 68% against NovelGlide's 0%. MapleRead SE also leads on rating (4.1 vs 2.0) and ads (none vs shown). NovelGlide's advantage is price (Free vs $8.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On update cadence, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
NovelGlide is free to download; MapleRead SE costs $8.99 up front. MapleRead SE sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. NovelGlide asks for nothing beyond the download.
MapleRead SE holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MapleRead SE has 125 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of MapleRead SE's written reviews are positive against 0% of NovelGlide's.
MapleRead SE ships an update every 2 months, NovelGlide monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MapleRead SE | NovelGlide |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (125 ratings) — better | 2.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.3% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 125 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Ad-supported — better |
| Best chart rank | #192 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 123 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Maplepop LLC | Cheng-Kai Wu |
Customer experience
MapleRead SE
NovelGlide
Bugs and requests
MapleRead SE
Reported bugs
3 issues- Freezing and crashing issues, especially on iOS 14
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
- Unreliable OPDS server integration and book downloads
Requested features
5 requests- Automatic reading progress sync across devices
- Improved PDF handling and annotation support
- Expanded highlighting and note-taking capabilities
- Streamlined library import and management
- Cleaner and more intuitive user interface
NovelGlide
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MapleRead SE
- Gratuity Level 1$0.99
- Gratuity Level 2$1.99
- Gratuity Level 5$4.99
NovelGlide
No in-app purchases









